Australia and Oceania

Pacific power play: Australia plans largest navy since WWII

SYDNEY, Feb 20, 2024 (AFP) – Australia on Tuesday outlined a decade-long plan to double its fleet of major warships and boost defence spending by an additional US$7 billion, in the face of a quickening Asia-Pacific arms race. Under the plan, Australia will get a navy of 26 major surface combatant ships, up from 11 today. “It is the largest fleet that we will have since the end of the Second World War,” said Defence […]

Papua New Guinea police authorized “any level of force” to stop tribal clashes

PORT MORESBY, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) Papua New Guinea is deploying additional security personnel to a region where dozens were killed in a suspected ambush, police said Monday, adding the reinforcements would be authorised to use “to use any level of force required”. The suspected ambush of tribal fighters by a rival clan occurred in the highlands near the village of Wapenamanda, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby. Police Commissioner […]

Lightning scorches four people at Botanic Gardens near Sydney Opera House

SYDNEY, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) – A lightning bolt scorched and knocked out four people near the Sydney Opera House on Monday as they sheltered under a tree during a violent electrical storm, rescue officials said. The four were struck beneath the tree in the Botanic Gardens, ambulance workers said, just a stone’s throw from the harbourside architectural masterpiece. “They all had a brief loss of consciousness,” said New South Wales ambulance service’s Dominic Wong. […]

53 dead in Papua New Guinea tribal violence

PORT MORESBY, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) – Fifty-three people have been killed in tribal violence in Papua New Guinea’s highlands, police said, the latest in a string of mass deaths linked to long-running feuds in the region. Police Commissioner David Manning said on Sunday that officers and soldiers had retrieved the bodies of 53 men. They are believed to have been killed near the town of Wabag, 600 kilometres northwest of the capital Port Moresby. […]

Papua New Guinea PM wins snap confidence vote

PORT MORESBY, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Papua New Guinea’s James Marape faced down attempts to oust him as prime minister Thursday, surprising rivals by calling, and winning, a snap vote of confidence amid raucous scenes in parliament. Lawmakers shouted, screamed and shook their fists as Marape pre-empted a vote of no confidence, scheduled for next week, with a vote of his own which he won 84-0 amid an opposition walkout. Marape’s tenure has been […]

Australia says China’s suspended death sentence for writer will ‘impact’ ties

SYDNEY, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Australia on Thursday warned that China’s handing of a suspended death sentence to writer Yang Jun will hinder ties that had been on the mend and fuel public mistrust of Beijing. “Decisions of this nature will have an impact on the relationship,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told lawmakers, addressing the sentence imposed on Chinese-Australian dissident Yang for alleged espionage. “This decision will inevitably reverberate for Australians who feel deeply […]

Eastern Australia battered by powerful storms: one dead, hundreds of thousands without power

MELBOURNE, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – Storms packing powerful winds toppled trees, killed one person and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in eastern Australia, officials said Wednesday. The wild weather hit large swathes of Victoria on Tuesday, dumping torrents of rain and unleashing some gusts of more than 150 kilometres per hour (90 miles per hour), officials said. A 50-year-old dairy farmer was killed in the storm, apparently struck […]

Strong 5.7-magnitude earthquake hits Hawaii, no tsunami: US seismologists

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9, 2024 (AFP) – A strong earthquake hit Hawaii on Friday, US seismologists said, but there was no danger of a tsunami. The 5.7-magnitude quake struck near Pahala on the main island of Hawaii, with its epicenter located around 37 kilometers (23 miles) below the Earth’s surface, the US Geological Survey said. The quake was felt all over the main island, according to a website on which people tell the USGS what […]

Australian toddler rescued from arcade claw machine

SYDNEY, Feb 1, 2024 (AFP) – An Australian toddler who clambered into a “Hello Kitty” arcade claw machine and “was in no hurry to get out” has been saved in a smash-and-grab rescue, police said Thursday. Queensland police said that during a shopping trip three-year-old Ethan climbed into the machine — which was filled with stuffed toys — via the prize dispenser chute. Police video shows four officers sizing up the problem before shooing the […]

Papua New Guinea inks new police deal with Australia

PORT MORESBY, Feb 1, 2024 (AFP) – Australia will plough millions more dollars into Papua New Guinea’s police force under a four-year deal designed to underscore a “traditional” security partnership in the face of growing Chinese influence. Canberra will spend about US$25 million on renovating and expanding police barracks and housing, according to the deal revealed late Wednesday. The investment represents a bid to help the beleaguered police force, while cementing long-standing security ties that […]

Cyclone hits northeast Australia leaving thousands without power

SYDNEY, Jan 26, 2024 (AFP)  A powerful category three cyclone crashed into northeastern Australia late on Thursday, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. Severe Tropical Cyclone Kirrily packed winds of more than 160 kilometres (100 miles) per hour as it hit Townsville, home to 180,000 people, before rapidly weakening. Emergency services said that despite high winds, the storm caused no fatalities and minimal damage. But about 64,000 homes were said to be without […]

Palau becomes first nation to ratify UN high seas treaty

UNITED NATIONS, United States, Jan 24, 2024 (AFP) – The island nation of Palau made history this week when it became the first country to ratify last year’s historic United Nations treaty for the protection of the Earth’s oceans. The so-called High Seas Treaty was adopted by UN member states in June, after more than 15 years of discussions. It can go into effect 120 days after being ratified by 60 countries — a goal […]